


Kid!Jaskier Au

by HeadToTheCoast



Series: Geraskier Tumblr Posts [9]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Geraskier, M/M, kid!jaskier, mentions of neglect/abuse in the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:15:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23662954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadToTheCoast/pseuds/HeadToTheCoast
Summary: now Jaskier's been turned into a kid instead
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Geraskier Tumblr Posts [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700689
Comments: 4
Kudos: 175





	Kid!Jaskier Au

so geralt heads down the mountain in silence. there’s no jaskier to try and lighten the mood and no yennefer to try and darken it. it’s just him and his regrets and his anger. and also someone crying in his camp.

he half expects it to be jaskier but instead he’s met with what looks like a child no older than 7 who’s crying to himself and... naked?

when the kid spots him his eyes widen and geralt can smell fear but as the tears freeze in his throat he seems to swallow and asks geralt a question - _are you here to kill me, sir?_

and then it’s geralt’s turn to stand, frozen in front of a naked kid with a pile of jaskier’s clothes next to him and wonder what the hell his life has become before he forces out a _no, jaskier, i am not here to kill you._

the kid, jaskier, looks at him a bit longer, as though taking in the swords and the outfit and the smell of fear turns to one of anticipation, like when he wanted to ask a question but knew geralt wouldn’t like it. what geralt likes even less is that jaskier smelled of fear in the first place, although he couldn’t begrudge younger jaskier of actually having the sense to be scared of a witcher like his older counterpart should have.

 _out with it,_ he growled, turning away from jaskier in favor of searching for a waterskin and one of jaskier’s smaller doublets in roach’s saddlebags. 

that seemed to startle him enough to ask, _are you here to take me away then? to become - to become a witcher?_ and geralt doesn’t smell fear at all. just sadness and something lighter, like flowers poking through wood. hope.

geralt sighs, hands jaskier the doublet and the water before sitting down across from him on one of the branches he had dragged to surround the fire the day before and says _no jaskier, i am not going to turn you into a witcher._

and jaskier considers this too and relaxes a little now that he’s wearing something less suffocating and says, _then why am i here mr. witcher? if my father didn’t send you to kill me or make me a witcher - how did i get here?_

and geralt turns the words over in his head. that jaskier believed his father would send a witcher after a six year old and swallows down some guilt over sending his older self off and tries to think of a response. _i’m not exactly sure how you got here jaskier. at least, not as how you are now._

jaskier doesn’t seem to think that much of an answer, and seeing how geralt isn’t concerned with hurting him he gets more confident in his questions. _what does that mean? do you have a name, mr. witcher? are you going to leave me in these woods? can i come with you?_

and the sun is starting to set and geralt should make a fire and jaskier looks so young sitting across from him and he doesn’t have answers to those questions so instead he stand up and says, _my name is geralt. i’m going to look for firewood, and dinner - stay here, i’ll explain when i come back._

and when geralt comes back jaskier is curled up in the dirt fast asleep and geralt isn’t looking forward to the call he will have to make in the morning.

when jaskier wakes up it is to two unfamiliar people having a very loud argument. one of them is the witcher he had met yesterday and one is a very pretty but scary looking lady who seems to be angry with the mr. witcher. they pause when they seem to realize he’s awake and then the scary lady is gone telling the witcher it’s only a month before walking through some sort of hole next to a tree.

and then jaskier is looking at the witcher and he wants to ask him questions but he remembers his father scolding him for bothering him and he isn’t sure whether the witcher had lied about being sent by his father and then the witcher is talking, way more than he had the day before.

geralt tells him his name again and that he really wasn’t sure how jaskier ended up in his camp yesterday but that he would be travelling with him for the next month or so, and that he’s sorry about that but jaskier is really rather young to be by himself but also that they really should be off because there’s a town not far from here and they’ve already wasted a half day’s travel and jaskier doesn’t care about the shitty explanation at all and keeps asking questions like _can i pet your horse mr. witcher geralt?_ and _your hair is very white it’s long like my sisters, she taught me how to braid hair, can i braid your hair mr. witcher geralt?_

and geralt is annoyed all the way to the next town but jaskier doesn’t seem to be scared of him of care that he’s one the road with someone he doesn’t know and geralt decides not to question it and just try to get the next month over with so that hopefully yennefer’s estimate of when the curse will run its course is over with so he can go back to his Path in silence. 

it takes jaskier a while to ask him questions like his older self did and geralt tries but fails to keep his temper in check and once or twice he raised his voice but jaskier wasn’t afraid when he did that no the only time geralt smelled fear was when he would leave for a hunt and jaskier would ask _you’re not going to leave forever are you mr. geralt?_ and so jaskier would stay at the inns and play with the innkeepers children and when he’d come back from hunts jaskier would ask him what monsters were like and _wow mr. geralt you must be super strong to be able to take down monsters that’s so cool!_

but coin was tight without jaskier’s ability to play to crowds so more often than not the two would be crammed into the same bed when they managed to stay in inns or the same bedroll when they camped outside because the first night they had spent outside with jaskier in his own bedroll geralt had awoken to noises of distress and small words muttered at nightmares like _please stop, and no i didn’t mean to, and please come back, and don’t leave me here, and i’ll be good i promise._

and when geralt had woken him up jaskier had looked at him with big eyes and had grabbed at geralt’s shirt while he calmed down saying _i’ve been good right mr. geralt you won’t leave me too right?_

so geralt silently pushed down on his own guilt and tried his best to not fuck up jaskier any more than he already had. if jaskier asked him to play games, he forced out answers and if jaskier asked to braid his hair he waited patiently until he was done and if jaskier wanted stories geralt did his best to tell them. he wasn’t used to talking or answering questions but he tried to make himself smaller and softer, just enough that the guilt over sending jaskier away didn’t eat him through entirely.

because when jaskier would speak of his family it was always of his sisters and the one time geralt had asked about his parents jaskier had gone quiet and said that he didn’t see them very often - they said he asked too many questions.

and before the month was up geralt had a picture in his head of a small little boy whose parents didn’t seem to want him that spent 20 years following around a witcher who spent every minute trying to get rid of him. 

so when geralt woke up after a month to find himself curled around a much larger, much older jaskier he felt his arms tighten and when the man opened his eyes geralt could have cried in relief but instead whispered _i’m sorry jaskier_

 _geralt? what are you doing here? the last thing i remember is -_ and geralt watches as jaskier’s eyes widen as he remembers the last month they had spent together, jaskier as a child and geralt as a sorry excuse for a witcher.

 _i know what i said on the mountain was uncalled for. you didn’t deserve my anger jaskier, and i’m sorry._ and geralt watches as jaskier takes in and lets out a breath before nodding.

 _thank you, for the apology geralt. you’ve done more than enough to be forgiven. i’m sorry you had to deal with me as a child._ and jaskier tries to sit up and move away but geralt tightens his hold on his bard who he feels like he just got back. 

_jaskier,_ he rumbles, _i have already made the mistake of leaving you. i won’t do so again._

that seems to break through whatever jaskier was thinking and he looked at geralt properly. geralt could smell the apprehension of a question and the look in jaskier’s eyes was decidedly vulnerable when he asked _you promise?_

and geralt gently tugs jaskier further into the sheets. he kisses him as softly as he is able and swallows the surprised sound the bard makes before pulling back and saying _jaskier, i promise i’ll stay_

**Author's Note:**

> at some point these headcanons become more fic like and in reality i would much rather have someone else pick up these ideas and just run with them
> 
> here's the shorter version
> 
> this is a fae thing - can’t decide when it should happen. it could be after the mountain where geralt happens across a kid in his camp and is about to be angry except jaskier is crying or something bc he doesn’t know where he is but he’s as talkative as ever and geralt pieces together what happened. he brings the kid to yen who says to give it a month and he’ll be back to normal but geralt i swear to god you can’t leave him somewhere if you’re going on the road bc he’s a child and prone to trouble but also maybe neglect!jaskier where his parents didn’t like him and so he keeps asking geralt while they’re traveling if he’s bringing him home or something or if his dad asked him to kill him (snow white style when they first meet) and geralt is like wtf? no and team bonding over jaskier’s sad childhood of abandonment issues that geralt unravels, feels guilty about and when jaskier turns back geralt properly apologizes.


End file.
